He was at an in-between. There was really no other way to put it. Chase was too old to roll with the kids, but too small to be included with the teenagers. Even if he was almost fourteen, he still felt like a "tween". What was worse was that Toby was busy with God-knew-what. Probably his culture class. Even though he'd been at the Mansion forever, and was adapting well, the adults were insistent that he continue with his studies. Studies that Chase was... not included in. As such, he was very, very bored.

The boy heaved a theatrical sigh, as if there was anyone there to hear him. It'd been dead quiet. The weather was nice so the "kids" were outside. The older teens were studying for finals. If Chase were any wiser, he'd be studying too. Instead he was surveying a box of Lego's with a deadpan expression.

Listlessly the shapeshifter began to arrange the bricks into a small square. When that square was complete, he would start another square atop that, though slightly smaller. It would be clear to any onlooker that the boy was building a pyramid. Another theatrical sigh. What else could he do, with Toby gone?

It was true that a lot of the teens were studying or finishing projects in preparation for winter break. That's what Luke had been doing, actually. Unlike many of his peers, though, Luke really couldn't stand being cooped up in his room for hours. After a couple days of finishing the last of his homework and getting into his projects, Luke desperately needed to get out of his dorm.

He left before noon on a whim, not wanting to return to his room after breakfast. Being covered in fur meant even if it was windy and cold out, Luke didn't need to bundle up much, though it wasn't too bad out now. The one plus to global warming. He jogged at a pretty fast pace, picking up to a near-run on all fours at the end of the return path when nobody was around. That was satisfying.

Crossing the greens, Luke was feeling pretty good. He really needed some fresh air, and now he felt a little better about getting back to work. He noticed a lot of the little kids hanging around; it would probably snow soon, and they'd probably like that a lot. Luke was a big fan of snow, too. It had a pleasant feel on his fur, even though he ended up all wet and matted afterwards. Not quite lost in thought, Luke paused when he noticed one very out-of-place-looking child.

Well, 'child'. He vaguely recognized Chase from around, and from the fiasco with the water balloon back in the summer. He wasn't sure how old Chase was, actually. Thirteen, fourteen? He looked a little pitiful, sitting alone playing with Legos. As much as he knew it wasn't necessarily the responsible choice, but he felt bad for the kid, and also he wasn't in a hurry to get back to working. But also for Chase's sake.

"Hey. How's it going?" Luke approached casually, hands in his pockets. He considered making a remark about the Legos, some sympathetic ribbing about what looked to be a pretty forlorn position. But he got the sense Chase wouldn't appreciate that, so instead he just followed with, "I'm taking a break from finals. Getting some air, y'know."

>> "Hey. How's it going?"

Chase lifted his gaze towards whoever was speaking towards them. It was... that guy. The water balloon guy. The "I tried to transform into you and you didn't like it" guy. Albeit most people didn't like it when he Chase looked like them.

"Luke," Chase announced, the name of the canine fellow before him finally surfacing, "Hey."

The boy didn't sound too enthused. It wasn't anything personal, really.

>>  "I'm taking a break from finals. Getting some air, y'know."

"Cool," the small teen remarked, "I'm building a pyramid."

He placed a few bricks on the pyramid to demonstrate.

"What finals are you studying for?"

Well they were on a first name basis. That was good!

Luke sat on the ground, cross-legged. Chase sounded pretty glum. The kid seemed to be alone a lot, but not super happy about it. Poor guy. He had a brother, right? Where was he?

Gently picking up a Lego brick, Luke held it delicately between the tips of his claws. "Well, I need to do an essay for English." he started counting on his free hand. "Finished my trig homework, finished chem. Oh, and a thing for You-shag." USHAG, or rather US History And Government, was his least favorite class. Too many names and dates and all kinds of stuff that ties together in weird ways. Better than Global History, but still.

Luke laid back in the grass and exhaled. He wasn't too thrilled about what he had left to do, but it was almost done. Of course, he had a few 'Regents' test in January for English since he messed the last one up. Writing was hard, okay? "What about you?"

Groaning slightly, Luke stretched, arms past his head. Then he sat up. "Hey, how's your brother? What's he up to?"